Anglo American’s outgoing chief executive has told mining industry
shareholders to rein in their expectations or quit the sector.

Cynthia Carroll, who leaves the FTSE 100 giant at the end of the month, complained of a “disconnect” between mining firms and their investors, who need to realise “what it really takes to deliver projects”.

“It’s not an industry where you can react overnight to something that happened yesterday,” Ms Carroll told the Financial Times.

“The [industry] context has changed [and] maybe the shareholder base must also change. It will need more time and patience.”

Last month Anglo posted a pre-tax loss of $239m (£154m) for 2012 compared with a $10.78bn profit the year before, as group revenues dropped by 10pc to $32.8bn. It was the miner’s first annual loss since listing in London.

Despite commodity prices coming under pressure, Ms Carroll said shareholders still want a quick return on their investment.